All in the best possible taste...

More wonderful stuff from that yardstick of all that is British and tasteful (the BBC) - an entire Radio 4 program dedicated to the historical origins of the concept of Good Taste.

It would seem it emerged in the 18th century. The British were getting very very wealthy as a nation, but suddenly had something of an anxiety attack about what the impact would be. The concern was that pleasure, in the shape of myriad forms of extravagent indulgence, might subvert virtue. Sumptuary laws had previously been used, in Britain as in other countries across the world, to curb consumption. But in the 18th century the Brits discovered Good Taste. This had the advantage that you could leave it to moralising prigs to administer, instead of having to go to the trouble of passing legislation. Good taste is thus much cheaper and quicker. It's also a fantastic way to have your cake (by enjoying an expensively luxurious lifestyle) and eat it (by occupying the moral high ground of good taste).

It's fantastic what people come up with, isn't it?

Suffering, creativity, and Transcendental Meditation

I heard yesterday that David Lynch and Donovan have teamed up and are doing the rounds here in Britain. They're flying the flag for Transcendental Meditation. This seems like an excellent idea in itself - a bit of peace and being present is a great thing to add to anyone's day. I did get a bit worried though when a certain issue emerged - to wit, can you create films/music/writings/art about suffering if you're not experiencing it? It is a bit of an eternal question of course, and one that's unlikely to reach a definitive final resolution in the next day or two.

I declare myself on the side that says you can't communicate what you don't experience. However, maybe it goes a bit deeper than that. An opera singer belting out an aria in a death-bed scene these days doesn't know what it is to be close to dying from tuberculosis, yet can still deliver a very moving performance. It could be that she communicates something very moving - just something other than her own imminent demise. Or does she perhaps position herself with the audience, and express their grief for the character? Does this all amount to faking it? If so, are we only allowed to be moved by true stories?

Stop right there. I'm back with David Lynch. I don't even wish to BEGIN contemplating a future in which reality TV is considered the only legitimate form of being emotionally touched and moved.

Back again!

Well, I'm back after some time away on a couple of courses run by Landmark Education, which have opened up a whole bunch of things for me, particularly about relationships with other people and how I see other people. Landmark run a number of fantastic courses, several of which I've done. What I've got out of their courses is the means to create the life I want for myself, rather than the life that seems to get dumped on my plate. It's let me really choose what my life is made up of, and I heartily recommend their work.

So what have I learned about relationships? Well, there was a lot about seeing other people simply as who they are - which naturally involves getting a whole bunch of crap out of the way. At the heart of the course, for me, was a quotation from Desmond Tutu: "A person is someone who sees others as 'person' ." I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when I really let people be themselves, rather than a set of my own assumptions.